Midnight Club: Los Angeles
Midnight Club: Los Angeles is the fourth video game in the Midnight Club racing series (fifth if including Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition Remix). Officially announced for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on May 16, 2007 by Rockstar Games, and released on October 21, 2008. The game is developed by Rockstar San Diego, who has been developing Midnight Club ''games since the first one. The map of Los Angeles in-game is the size of all three cities from the previous installment combined. It has also been mentioned in several sources that each car will have a polygon count of roughly 100,000. Released media On August 22, 2007, Rockstar launched their first teaser trailer and screenshots for the game on their official website. The trailer features the 1969 Ford Mustang Boss 302, 1971 Lamborghini Miura SV, 2006 Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder, 2004 Lamborghini Murcielago Roadster, 1999 Mitsubishi 3000 GT VR-4, 1975 Datsun 280Z, 2006 Saleen S7, 2006 Pontiac Solstice, 1999 Mitsubishi Eclipse GSX, 2007 Aston Martin V8 Vantage Roadster, Cadillac Escalade (not available to the player), 2007 Corvette Z06, 2008 Saleen S302 Extreme, 2006 Mazda RX8 "Shinka", 2007 Kawasaki Ninja ZX-14, 2006Nissan 350Z Roadster, 2006 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX MR, 1996 Chevrolet Impala SS, 1999 Nissan Skyline GT-R V-Spec, 2006 Chevrolet Cobalt SS Supercharged, 2008 Audi R8, Cadillac Sixteen (not available to the player), and the interior view of a 2006 Ford GT. The song "Idealistic" from Digitalism, a German electro music duo was playing. Screenshots have included the Dodge Challenger Concept, Chevrolet Camaro Concept, the 2008 Cadillac CTS-V (not available to the player), the 2008 Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT-8 (not available to the player), and the 2008 Audi RS4. On July 23, 2008, Rockstar released another batch of 10 new screenshots. Screenshots consisted of previously shown cars in addition to the Ford GT and 2008 Mercedes-Benz S600. It has also been confirmed that at least one of the Aston Martins appearing in the video game will be the Aston Martin Vantage Roadster. IGN UK also mentioned driving a 1995 Mazda RX7 in the demo provided by Rockstar during their preview of the game. A second trailer entitled "Race Life" was released on July 29, 2008 which featured several shots of the Ford Mustang Boss 302, Audi R8, Mercedes-Benz S-Class and the 1996 Impala as a police cruiser amoung others. The game's protagonist was also frequently showcased in the video. Rockstar released a third trailer on August 21, 2008 at the annual Leipzig Games Convention highlighting the sleek Audi R8 sports car, featuring Baligaga by Tricky as the music. Gamers in attendance were also given a chance to experience ''Midnight Club: Los Angeles’ head-to-head multiplayer aspect for the first time. On September 3, 2008, Rockstar released a short trailer entitled "Customize Your Ride" which featured the customization of the 2006 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX and offered several of the customization options available. The Santa Monica portion of the official website was also unlocked which included video and pictures of Santa Monica, the Kawaski Ninja ZX-14, and the Aston Martin V8 Vantage Roadster. Gameplay The game is set in the city of Los Angeles, again providing the option to completely free-roam (on roadways quite larger than all the cities combined from Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition). New additions are a day-to-night cycle and weather effects, adding a realistic aspect to the game. After races, if any damage is inflicted upon the vehicle, the player doesn't necessarily have to drive back to the garage for a full repair, but instead can choose the Quick Fix option through which old, junkyard-esque parts will be added to the car. To get the nice look back, the player must actually drive back to repair their vehicle at a garage or service station so actually totaling the vehicle completely is not possible anymore. The Los Angeles map is considered one of the most detailed and accurate versions of L.A. yet. With the RAGE system being used for this game, as with Grand Theft Auto IV, traffic level will fluctuate throughout the day, with heavy traffic in the morning and afternoon, and little to no traffic at night. Motorcycles are once again a big part of the game, and a few specific models have been mentioned. These include the 2006 Ducati 999R, 2007 Ducati Monster S4RS, and Kawasaki ZX-14. Convertibles, customizable interiors and customizable exotics are new additions. Police return but are no longer scripted to a specific race, they will chase you no matter where you are and the longer you run from them, the higher your fine if you are pulled over.5 Developers placed great emphasis on the elimination of load screens, stating that the player can literally jump from career mode to an arcade race in under ten seconds. The new dynamic weather system has been reported to alter the gameplay experience, making the vehicle more prone to sliding in the rain. Diffcultly is balanced usually by a color coding system from green to red,green is the easiest while red is considered the hardest of all. Special abililtys return from Midnight Club 3 along with a new add on: the E.M.P., which disables all electronics within a small radius around your car for a certin period of time. PSP version Midnight Club: L.A. Remix is a portable version of Midnight Club: Los Angeles, which was announced by Rockstar Games on April 21, 2008 for the PlayStation Portable along with a release date for both the portable version and the console version. Unlike the other versions, the player does not have to pay for any damages to their ride. All damages are automatically repaired after races, similar to the previous Midnight Club game. There are also no cheats in this version, which once again differs from the other versions. The game features a smaller version of L.A, and, as a bonus, the Tokyo map from Midnight Club II and Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition Remix. The game was released on October 21, 2008 in North America and October 24, 2008 in Europe. Updates and Downloadable Content Since its release the game has had a single update and another planned. The first update released in December 2008 included improved AI balance to better adjust to players skill level and the Xbox 360 got additional leaderboard support for tournaments on Rockstar Social Club. Also part of the update was an additional online game mode called "Modes", where the user could choose to go to a lobby to play various race and flag modes instead of just one specific mode, aside from cruise mode.17 The next update, entitled the South Central Upgrade And Content Pack, included a whole new area of the map, South Central LA, about 1/3 the size of the current map, for free. Players are also able to purchase the pack which includes new character competitions, races, music, and cars available in a single complete package. New vehicles include various cars and, for the first time in the game, SUVs along with another motorcycle. On January 14, 2009, the content pack was accidentally released on the Xbox Live Marketplace during its testing and approval phase by Microsoft. It has since been removed and anyone who was able to obtain it was asked to delete it because it may cause unforseen problems with achievments and save data, according to a Xbox Live Marketplace staff member. The pack was released on March 27, 2009. New cars include low riders, SUVS, and a new Mercedes. Plot A man from the East Coast moves to Los Angeles. The character, known only as "Player", takes a major role in the game. In the intro of the game, he is on the phone with the, unknown at the time, Los Angeles City Champ, Booke, telling him to meet at a fast-food restaurant named Carney's Express Limited. He hooks the protagonist character up with three cars, one to pick, in the beginning of the game: a 1998 Nissan 240SX, 1983 Volkswagen Golf/GTI, or 1988 Volkswagen Scirocco. Once you have built up enough of a reputation, you gain the ability to become Champ of the City and of each car type. The first one that is offered is becoming City Champ. At a point in the game, Karol calls telling you about Booke being back as City Champ. When you go talk to Booke, he tells you to race regional opponents to see if you can race against him. After you beat them, Booke calls saying he is impressed, and to meet him at the Standard Hotel for a race which ends up being the City Champ race vs. Booke and one of the final races on Career mode. When you win, not only do you become City Champ, but other championship races open. Once you win against the lesser opponents, the Champs of all five vehicle classes in the game challenge you. The characters are Oswaldo, Julian, Lester, Pete, Marcel. After you become City Champ, Karol calls and has a proposition. He asks you to get $1 million dollars to help co-own his two garages with him for his business. In return, he lets you have anything in the garages for free. This proposition also affects Doc's South Central garage although the game does not mention it. After the character has completed 100% in LA in the PSP version, an unknown man somehow has reached his cell number, and calls saying that he wants to meet him at the Los Angeles International Airport on "his flight to Tokyo" then the character says "You talking about the Mid Night Club?" After the call, the Tokyo career and map can be accessed in Midnight Club: L.A Remix. Category:Plot